Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Most Recent: Wii U
Someone leaked GameStop’s Black Friday 2013 ad
Someone from GottaDeals.com has obtained a copy of GameStop’s 12-page Black Friday 2013 circular and it’s certainly worth a look. There’s nothing that absolutely screams, “MUST BUY,” but there is plenty of smaller deals and at least something to appeal to everyone.
If you’re looking for system bundles, both the PS3 and Xbox 360 will have $199.99 packages available. The Xbox 360 250GB Bundle will include Halo 4 + Tomb Raider while the PS3 250GB Bundle will include Batman: Arkham Origins + The Last of Us. Nintendo is also getting in on the act with a Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds 3DS XL Bundle. Priced at $219.99, it includes a gold system and the game.
Some of the best “Friday Only” deals include Beyond: Two Souls ($39.99), The Last of Us ($39.99), Battlefield 4 ($29.99), Call of Duty: Ghosts ($49.99), and Just Dance 2014 ($19.99). A few “All Weekend” deals are pretty great as well: Diablo III ($39.99), WWE 2K14 ($39.99), Dishonored: Game of the Year Edition ($24.99), and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist ($24.99).
There’s a possibility that the ad (and the sales within) could change between now and Black Friday, November 29, as Watch Dogs and DriveClub, both of which were delayed into 2014 this week, were included in the PS4 section.
GTA5 steals our hearts (and money) as the best-selling game of September 2013
Rockstar Games was on a quest for booty last month as Grand Theft Auto V was declared the best-selling game of the month by The NPD Group (via Joystiq). Not only did GTA5 sell a ridiculous amount of copies, but the title actually raised the fortunes of the entire video game industry. In September 2012, the game industry recorded $848 million in retail sales. Last month? $1.07 billion. Whoa.
The rest of the top ten includes a mixture of new releases and August holdovers. NBA 2K14 (#3), Diablo III (#4), FIFA 14 (#5), Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix (#6), and NHL 14 (#8) represent the new releases while Madden NFL 25 (#2), Disney Infinity (#7), and Saints Row IV (#10) all remained on the list from August. The retail version of Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (at #9) was the only game with a pre-August release date to crack the top ten.
If you’d prefer your monthly NPD report in list format, we’ve got that too:
Bestselling Games in September 2013
1. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360, PS3)
2. Madden NFL 25 (Xbox 360, PS3)
3. NBA 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. Diablo III (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
5. FIFA 14 (Xbox 360, PS3, Vita)
6. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix (PS3)
7. Disney Infinity (Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, Wii U, 3DS)
8. NHL 14 (Xbox 360, PS3)
9. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (Xbox 360)
10. Saints Row IV (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Diablo III, Disney Infinity, FIFA 14, Grand Theft Auto V, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix, Madden NFL 25, Minecraft, NBA 2K14, NHL 14, NPD, Saints Row IV
6 Reasons I’m Not Looking Forward to Batman: Arkham Origins
Warner Bros. Games Montreal’s Batman: Arkham Origins hits stores next week, and despite wave after wave of screenshots and info on the villains of the project, it has not managed to raise my excitement above lukewarm. I’m a self-confessed Batman fan and I adored the previous two entries (Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, despite the latter’s Day One DLC debacle), yet the prospect of purchasing the third entry has left me feeling numb
“But this is The Batman!” I hear my inner geek scream.
“So was Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin,” replies the pessimistic part of my brain.
In an attempt to reconcile these loyal feelings of fandom with my lackluster enthusiasm for the game, I decided to dissect exactly why Origins is not pushing my buttons. (more…)
Nintendo Download: Mighty Switch Force! 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Tuesday), more
Are you ready for more Mighty Switch Force? The heroic Patricia Wagon is back (again) in the Wii U re-release of Mighty Switch Force! 2. Now available in glorious high definition, fans of the franchise will want to give it a look. On Tuesday, Wii U owners will also get the chance to download the Director’s Cut of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Ubisoft’s Just Dance Kids 2014.
Sliding over to the 3DS eShop… Natsume’s lifestyle sim, Hometown Story, will also be available to download on Tuesday. If Hometown Story is unfamiliar to you, just know that its the latest game from the creators of the popular Harvest Moon series.
More information on all of these titles and the rest of this week’s Nintendo Download can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Kickstart This! The Opulent October Edition
October, the month where towns and shops put up Christmas decorations before people have even celebrated Halloween, when you remember that you have a heating system that has lain dormant all summer. And also the celebration of when I crawled out of the womb, a video game controller already in my hand (all birthday presents are welcome). But rather than spend your money on me, or hoarding it for a last minute Christmas Eve rush, instead why not channel the spirit of Tam o’ Shanter and dance with a strange devil in the midnight oil. And by this I mean give a nice game developer a Kickstarter donation.
There are five projects shaking their Starbuck-emblazoned begging cup at you, starting with the video game version of an old homeless man, ColecoVision. There is also Japanese Action RPG Reborn, Zombie RTS Undead Overload, the Lovecraftian 2D adventure game Mark of the Old Ones, and last but not least, the beautiful and unique Knite and the Ghost Lights.
Let’s go. (more…)
Big Brother banishes Watch Dogs to Spring 2014
Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs was one of this Fall’s most ambitious new games. Perhaps it was a bit too ambitious as the publisher has announced that the game will now be released in Spring 2014. The delay comes slightly over a month ahead of the game’s originally scheduled November 19 release date.
The development team issued the following statement to explain the delay:
Our ambition from the start with Watch_Dogs has been to deliver something that embodies what we wanted to see in the next-generation of gaming. It is with this in mind that we’ve made the tough decision to delay the release until Spring 2014.
We know a lot of you are probably wondering “why now?” We struggled with whether we would delay the game. But from the beginning, we have adopted the attitude that we will not compromise on quality. As we got closer to release, as all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place in our last push before completion, it became clear to us that we needed to take the extra time to polish and fine tune every detail so we can deliver a truly memorable and exceptional experience.
“It needs more time polish everything up,” the reason for every delay ever. When it’s finally released in Spring 2014, Watch Dogs will be available for the PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
New Releases: Skylanders Swap Force, Valhalla Knights 3, Zumba World Party, More
Activision’s mega-popular Skylanders series returns to stores today with Skylanders Swap Force, its third new entry in three years. The game will be available for the 3DS, PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360. Naturally, a new wave of toys will also be available at your local toy store.
If you’re looking for something a little less Skylanders-y, XSEED is bringing the prison-set action RPG Valhalla Knights 3 to the Vita this Tuesday. It’ll be joined on store shelves by Majesco’s Zumba Fitness World Party (Wii U) and two additional titles from Activision: obstacle course sequel Wipeout: Create & Crash (3DS, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360) and hunting sim Cabela’s African Adventures (PSS, Wii, Xbox 360).
I tell you, the pending launch of two next-generation systems is really messing with the annual Fall gaming rush.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 game will launch alongside film next May
Activision and Beenox have announced a tie-in game that will branch off from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which is scheduled to hit theaters on May 2, 2014. This time around, players will get to control Peter Parker for, what I believe, is the first time ever:
In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, players once again assume the role of the iconic Super Hero in a unique side-story inspired by the feature film but set in its own continuity. Throughout his journey, Spider-Man will encounter a number of new foes as well as some old friends, as he confronts a new threat to his beloved city. The narrative will give Peter Parker, Spider-Man’s nerdy photojournalist persona, a greater role in the spotlight, as he investigates the complicated motivations and unique personalities behind the menagerie of Marvel menaces threatening Manhattan.
As Spidey, players will be able to free-roam through a greatly-enhanced Manhattan cityscape, one set to offer livelier, more engaging opportunities with which to put his sensational skills to use. Central to the expansive depth and detail being poured into The Amazing Spider-Man 2 video game is the new “Hero or Menace” system, which incentivizes Super Hero behavior by rewarding the web-slinger’s crime-fighting efforts, and adds consequences for letting criminality fester. Spider-Man’s personal brand of webswinging and up-close-and-personal combat will see a variety of new features as well.
This version of Peter Parker looks like a male model and dates Emma Stone, so I’m not sure we need the “nerdy photojournalist” schtick. The game, which is also titled The Amazing Spider-Man 2, will be released alongside the film and will be available in stores for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One sometime in late April or early May.